espnW Blog: Ashley Wagner
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)I've finished my last week of training and am now in London, Ontario, for the World Championships, which start on Thursday for the ladies. Since my lackluster performance at nationals, I did what any right-minded elite-level athlete would do: I obsessed about it.
Courtsy IMGI’m sure every figure skater would love to have that perfectly incredible long program, one that ends with the audience jumping to its feet in cheers. That certainly wasn’t the case with my performance on Saturday.
Julian Finney/Getty ImagesAfter a pretty amazing year that included more wins than I thought possible, I rang in 2013 by watching the Times Square ball drop on TV ... and then heading directly to bed. It might not have been the typical New Year’s Eve for a 21-year-old, but what can I say?
AP Photo/Michel EulerIt feels like Christmas came early this year, because my trip to Paris was that awesome. I won gold in the Trophée Eric Bompard, which means I get to go to Sochi, Russia, for the Grand Prix finals next week.
AP Photo/Ted S. WarrenMy first two competitions of the season are under my belt, and I can’t complain so far! I'm excited to say that I'm 2-for-2. The first, the Japan Open, was a completely different environment than any I’d skated in before, but I loved it.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose SanchezTo come as close as you possibly can to your dreams without achieving them is heartbreaking. That's what happened to me in 2010. You may or may not have noticed me back then, but I was the first alternate to the U.